“The River,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Sermon/Shabbat Awakenings
August 30, 2024 | 26 Av 5784
Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat. You can listen to it as a podcast here.
As we head toward the end of the summer and perhaps leave behind a less rushed existence, I share with you this poem. It was written as a way to remind me that life has its “whirl of flurry” of both challenges and celebrations. Either way, we all flow on this river of life.
Like a river of peace,
Like a piece of a river
Which flows downstream
Toward something, someone
So sure it will arrive.
On the way, it washes up against
A rock, a twig,
A whirl of flurry
In the whiteness of foam.
But it does not stop, it just keeps going.
Let me be like that piece of the river
Not deterred by the
Obstacles in its path.
Let me swirl in the
Flurry of white
Even when it feels like a
Whirlpool.
And let me know that the river
Keeps flowing
Despite me and with me
So that I move along with it.
And there,
Carried with the rest of the
Water
In that piece of the river,
I find my own peace.
Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום
- We celebrate Shabbat this week with Qabbalat Shabbat at 6:00 p.m. OUTSIDE. Register here to join on Zoom.
- On Shabbat morning, we gather at 9:00 a.m. in the library for a short Shabbat service and Torah reading followed by a lively discussion of this week’s Torah portion. All levels and abilities are welcomed. Register here to join on Zoom.
- Thank Goodness it’s Shabbat gathers at 10:00 a.m. No registration necessary.
- Gather online to say goodbye to Shabbat with a lay-led Havdalah on Zoom at 8:00 p.m.
- See Temple Israel’s webpage for Livestream options.
I continue to value the many comments you exchange with me through these Shabbat Awakenings. Share with me what you think here. Your email goes directly to me!
Rabbi Elaine Zecher